Designed for children ages 3–6, CarnegieKids brings the excitement of
live music to all five boroughs of New York City. These free, interactive
concerts encourage the whole family to be musically creative. The Lascivious
Biddies—comprising Deidre Rodman, Lee Ann Westover, and Saskia Lane—have
performed in Weill Music Institute community events since 2002. But as their
kid-friendly alter ego—the Itty Biddies—they have become a favorite of
CarnegieKids. Westover, the Biddies’ lead vocalist and ukulele player, recently
discussed how the trio evolved into a CarnegieKids mainstay.

What inspired you to start performing children’s music?

We have been performing for adults for more than 10 years as the Lascivious
Biddies. When Deidre and Saskia had baby girls a couple of years ago, they
naturally started writing songs aimed at their kids. We fell in love with some
of the songs as a group, so we would play them here and there at concerts.
Several Weill Music Institute staff members heard some of those tunes and were
inspired to commission a children’s show for CarnegieKids. We had performed as
the Itty Biddies before, but the commission from Carnegie Hall gave us the
impetus we needed to really take the time and develop that early concept into
the Itty Biddies as we are today ... and it’s been so much fun.

How do you adapt your performance or your presentation for kids?

We wrote the songs specifically for an audience of little ones, with their
pleasure and education in mind. That being said, authenticity is just as
important with children as it is with adults. We brought the absolute best of
ourselves as performers, songwriters, and musicians to the music, and we treat
an audience of children with a lot of respect. We never dumb down the music.
It’s an honor to have some influence on them, to bring music into their lives in
a really dynamic way. But we can definitely tell if we are on the right track
with a song. A kid is not going to sit and pretend to enjoy a concert to be
polite.

When creating your CarnegieKids program, do you factor in the parents and
how to engage them, too?

Oh, of course! If parents and teachers didn’t like the music, it would be
impossible to engage the kids. Their participation deepens the experience for
the children. We want an Itty Biddies show to be a wonderful musical experience
for everyone. Frankly, we wouldn’t perform the songs if we didn’t love to play
and sing them ourselves—and we are adults and parents, too!

What style or genre of music works best in getting kids to interact during a
CarnegieKids concert?

We like to keep things primarily upbeat, but we are not picky about genre. We
Biddies have never fit neatly into a genre at any point, and we have brought
that variety into the children’s show. We take inspiration from almost anywhere
while composing a song—’80s pop, jazz, world music. As long as you keep things
fun and interesting, folks are game to come along for the ride.

Do you take advice from your own children when planning CarnegieKids
concerts?

The little girls are each two and a half, and Deidre’s baby was born only
about a week ago, so they are not so good with offering constructive criticism
yet. Because they are growing up with so much music in the house, we think of
them as our toughest audience. They hear live music all the time, so if they
love what we are writing and sing along, we know it’s going to work in the show.
After all, the Itty Biddies were essentially started for them.